LIVE SCORE IND v ENG 1st Test Day 1: Cook dropped twice, Hameed opens

LIVE SCORE | INDIA vs ENGLAND | 1st TEST | DAY 1

RAJKOT

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FULL SCORECARD

Day 1  Stumps

India would be ruing the dropped catches early in the first session that could have given them the early momentum. Apart from that though, England's batsmen haven't offered any chances at all especially against spin. The track has played well although it's been a bit slow. The visitors will want to pile on the runs tomorrow as well. India will hope to restrict England as much as possible. Tune in at 0930 IST tomorrow for the second day's play. Till then, it's goodbye from us.

It was a hard day's work for India's bowlers. With the surface not offering much turn, the spin trio weren't quite able to trouble the batsmen. Ashwin and Jadeja did bowl well in the first session but thereafter weren't quite effective while Mishra had an off day. Umesh and Shami got the ball to reverse although they could have been more accurate in their spells. The latter did have slight issues with fitness too.

A very good day for England after opting to bat. Joe Root's century and Moeen Ali's unbeaten 99 were the highlights of the day for the visitors. The duo's 179-run stand put the tourists on track after going to lunch at a slightly wobbly 102/3 which included the big one of skipper Cook. Although Root departed towards the fag end of the day to a debatable decision, Ali batted on with Stokes to prevent further damage.

92.6: Amit Mishra to Ben Stokes, Floated up outside off, Stokes lunges forward and defends it to the off side. THAT'S STUMPS ON DAY 1! England: 311/4. Moeen Ali 99(192), Ben Stokes 19(41)

85 overs: England 287/4. Ben Stokes 5(17), Moeen Ali 89(168)

Time for Drinks. A crucial breakthrough as Root was stamping his authority and threatening India big time. The home side will be breathing a bit easy and look to take more. Meanwhile, BEN STOKES comes to the crease.

England: 281/4

80.5: Umesh Yadav to Joe Root, OUT! GONE! Big strike by Yadav! He almost made a mess of it though. Fuller outside off, Root drives it but cannot keep the stroke down. Pops back at Yadav who takes it initially but the ball pops out late. The umpires want to check if the bowler has celebrated too early. Soft signal is out from the umpire. The third umpire feels that Umesh had held it for a decent period of time before it spilled apparently in celebration. A bit confusing in the end but Root has to go after a really good knock. Can argue that he was a tad unlucky.

  OUT! Joe Root is out caught and bowled by Umesh Yadav for 124. 80 overs: England 278/3. Joe Root 123(178), Moeen Ali 86(157) 70 overs: England 270/3. Joe Root 102(158), Moeen Ali 61(117) 11th Test ton for Root, 3rd against India and this is his first in Asia. Good innings! 67.5 overs: Ravichandran Ashwin to Joe Root, Drifting in from around off, Root gets for the lap sweep. In the air but goes through the vacant short fine leg region towards the deep. Brace taken. Well played Joe! Calmly accepts the response of the crowd. 65 Overs: England 213/3. Joe Root 96(149), Moeen Ali 49(96) Welcome back for the final session of the day. Players and umpires are making their way to the middle. Can England consolidate on their position to drive home the advantage? It'll surely be a morale-booster for the tourists if they can win the first day of this long series. India need quick wickets to get back in the game. UMESH YADAV to begin proceedings after tea. Day 1 Session 2 Kohli tried all his bowlers with the spinners getting longer spells but nobody could create constant pressure on the batsmen. The fact that the hosts have bowled very few maidens till now shows how busy Root and Ali have been. The track has been good to bat on although a touch slow. A hint of reverse swing is available with the older ball but nothing alarming for the spinners just yet. Join us in a short while for the final session to find out which team takes the day's honors. This session - 31.3 overs, 107 runs, 0 wickets. Dominant session for England. Root and Ali have stitched a valuable century stand that is still unbroken with both batsmen hardly looking in any trouble. The former is inching towards another Test ton while the all-rounder is nearing a half century. The duo's efforts have ensured that England are going to the tea break in a fairly good position. 64 overs: England 209/3. Joe Root 93(144) Moeen Ali 48(95) 60 overs: England 199/3. Joe Root 91(131), Moeen Ali 41(84). 55 overs: England 176/3. Joe Root 77(117), Moeen Ali 32(68). 50 overs: England 158/3. Joe Root 63(98), Moeen Ali 28(57) 45 overs: England 143/3. Joe Root 52(78), Moeen Ali 24(47). 24th Test fifty for Root. 42.1 overs: Ravichandran Ashwin to Joe Root, Tossed up on middle and leg, whipped away down to long on for a single. Fine knock by Root so far but he needs to carry on. 40 overs: England 125/3. Joe Root 47(65), Moeen Ali 11(30) 38 overs: England 119/3. Joe Root 45(62), Moeen Ali 7(21). 35 overs: England 108/3. Joe Root 38(56), Moeen Ali 3(9).

Welcome back for the second session. Can England get their innings back on track or will India continue to make further inroads? We shall find out as the players and umpires make their way out to the middle. JOE ROOT will continue his innings and MOEEN ALI comes to the crease. RAVICHANDRAN ASHWIN to continue his over.

  SESSION 1… LUNCH: England 102 for 3. It was a good bowling performance from all of India's bowlers. The pacers were unlucky not to get wickets with the new ball due to the fielders' mistakes. The spinners didn't get much purchase as you would expect on a normal day one pitch. Yet, Ashwin and Jadeja have used the other factors like angle, change in pace and drift to trouble the batsmen. Still a fairly good batting deck and Root is key for the tourists. First innings score is always vital in the sub-continent. Join us in a while for the second session. India's session after having losing the toss. It didn't start well for the hosts though as a flurry of catches were put down off the seamers early. There was a bit of movement off the deck but the dropped chances allowed Cook and debutant Hameed to settle in. It seemed like the England skipper would bat long but he was removed by Jadeja to a dubious lbw call that the former didn't review. Ashwin removed the debutant and then derailed Duckett at the stroke of lunch to give India the session's honors. 32.3 overs: Ravichandran Ashwin to Ben Duckett, OUT! India are coming back hard and Ashwin is weaving his magic! Tossed up on middle, turning away. Duckett comes half-forward as he stays on his leg stump and gets an outside edge that flies towards Rahane at first slip. He dives in front and takes a brilliant catch! Duckett is unsure whether that one has carried cleanly or not and the umpires refer it upstairs. 30 overs: England 90/2. Joe Root 35(44), Ben Duckett 1(8). 26.2 overs: Ravichandran Ashwin to Haseeb Hameed, OUT! lbw b Ravichandran Ashwin. England have lost their second wicket. 25 overs: England 74/1. Haseeb Hameed 31(79), Joe Root 20(25). 20 overs: England 62/1. Haseeb Hameed 31(60), Joe Root 9(13) 16 overs: England 51/1. Haseeb Hameed 25(44), Joe Root 4(5). JOE ROOT is the new man in. 15.1 overs: Ravindra Jadeja to Alastair Cook, OUT! Jadeja deceives Cook with a beauty! Slow through the air outside off and on a length, turns in sharply. Cook goes deep in his crease to flick it through but is rapped low on the pads. There is a huge appeal from India and the umpire obliges and rules it out. Cook thinks about the review and consults with his partner but does not take it. The replays show that it was going down the leg side. Big wicket for the home side! 10 overs: England 35/0. Haseeb Hameed 17(25), Alastair Cook 17(35) 9 overs: England 31/0. Haseeb Hameed 17(25), Alastair Cook 13(29) 5 overs: England 20/0. Haseeb Hameed 14(12), Alastair Cook 10(24) 1.2 overs: Umesh Yadav to Alastair Cook, ANOTHER EDGE! Cook is looking nervous. Length ball outside off, he pushes tentatively but gets the nick that goes on the bounce past the left of Kohli at second slip. A brace taken. 1 over: England 1/0. Haseeb Hameed 0(2), Alastair Cook 1(4) 0.3 overs: Mohammed Shami to Alastair Cook, DROPPED AT GULLY! Back of a length from outside off, Cook plays a loose push away from the body. The outside edge flies to gully where Rahane gets to it but spills the chance. It was a sharp chance but you expect fielders like him to take it with ease. How much will this cost India? Cook is a very difficult batsman to dislodge once set. The players and umpires are making their way out to the middle. ALASTAIR COOK and HASEEB HAMEED to opening the batting for England. It shall be MOHAMMED SHAMI to take the new ball. Three slips and a gully in place. We are ready to roll! VIRAT KOHLI states that it's a good pitch and feels it has enough for both the batsmen and bowlers. Hopes that his side can start well in the first session. Feels that India have played good cricket in recent times but doesn't want the hosts to be complacent. Insists that it's important to win crucial sessions. Says that they are playing with five bowlers which is mainly due to England's strong lower order. ALASTAIR COOK says that they will bat first. Feels that it's a good pitch and expects the surface to crack up due to the heat. Opines that it'll take spin as the game progresses. States that the experience in Bangladesh has helped although it will be a tougher challenge facing India. Admits that his side is short of experience but feels that it is an exciting thing to have. Says that they are playing with 3 seamers and 3 spinners. Time for the toss, Virat Kohli is ready to flip the coin. Heads is the call, it is a head. ENGLAND WIN THE TOSS AND OPT TO BAT. India's Test form is on an upswing and are looking particularly flawless at home. They are just coming after thumping New Zealand. For England to challenge the home side, they'll have to solidify their batting which looked shaky from what one saw in Bangladesh recently. Alastair Cook and Joe Root need to step up although the tourists boast of arguably the best lower order in Test cricket at the moment. The visitors will need to adapt better to spin than what they did against Bangladesh. Toss will be crucial too. The flip of the coin isn't far away. Hello and welcome everyone! England's tour of India kicks off today with the first of the 5-match Test series beginning in Rajkot. The visitors are coming after a drawn series in Bangladesh and will need to raise their game considerably if they are to compete with the hosts. India haven't lost a Test at home since late 2012 which was coincidentally against their current opponents. England are also the only side to win a Test series in India in this decade. While all this is a morale booster for the tourists, a lot has changed since 2012.